One of the major trends of Indian religious philosophy is mysticism. This term can be misleading, however, as it can evoke Western, and particularly Christian, notions of religious experience, practice, and ends. Nevertheless, many scholars of religion have long used such concepts to study Hinduism and to interpret it for Western students. The desire for union of the self with something greater than the self, whether that is defined as a principle that pervades the universe or as a personal God, is one sense in which Hinduism has a “mystical” dimension. Yet, while Hindu mysticism at one extreme is the realization of the identity of the individual self with the impersonal principle called brahman (the position of the Vedanta school of Indian philosophy), at the other extreme it is the intensive devotionalism to a personal God that is found in the bhakti (devotional) sects.

Most Hindu mystical thought displays four common features. First, it is based on experience: the state of realization, whatever it is called, is both knowable and communicable, and the systems are all designed to teach people how to reach it. It is not, in other words, pure speculation. Second, it has as its goal the release of the spirit-substance of the individual from its prison in matter, whether matter is considered real or illusory. Third, many systems recognize the importance or the necessity of the control of the mind and body as a means of realization; sometimes this takes the form of extreme asceticism and mortification, and sometimes it takes the form of the cultivation of mind and body in order that their energies may be properly channeled. Finally, at the core of Hindu mystical thought is the functional principle that knowing is being. Thus, knowledge is something more than analytical categorizing: it is total understanding. This understanding can be purely intellectual, and some schools equate the final goal with omniscience, as does Yoga. But understanding can also mean total transformation: if one truly knows something, one is that thing. Thus, in the devotional schools, the goal of the devotee is to transform into a being who, in eternity, is in immediate and loving relationship to the deity. But despite the fact that these are both ways of knowing, some consider the difference between them to be significant. In the first instance, the individual has the responsibility to train and use his own intellect. The love relationship of the second, on the other hand, is one of dependence, and the deity assists the devotee through grace. Thus, some theological schools emphasize self-control, while others stress devotion and divine grace. Still other teachers say that the devotee should not exert himself to control his mind; rather, with meditation his consciousness will naturally try to transcend itself and reach a blissful state. In fact, some Shrivaishnava theologians have said that one should simply consent to the reception of divine grace and not assume any responsibility in the scheme of salvation; others within this tradition have emphasized the importance of bhakti understood as active self-surrender to Vishnu and Lakshmi. The distinction between these two visions of salvation is illustrated by the analogy of the cat and the monkey. The cat carries her young in her mouth, and thus the kitten has no responsibility. But the young monkey must cling by its own strength to its mother’s back.

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